Gary Panter

He`s a hero to children and a cult figure to adults. (Heh-HEH! I know you are, but what am I?) Now, Pee-wee Herman is ... a clothing label? Yes, the puny prince of pre-adolescence has launched a new brand of clothing, linens and accessories, currently being sold at J.C. Penney stores nationwide. And the word for today is: color. The Pee-wee Herman boutiques and merchandise -- designed by Gary Panter, the cartoonist who created the set for CBS` wildly popular Pee-wee`s Playhouse -- include pullovers, puffy jackets and pants in pink, turquoise and green.

He`s a hero to children and a cult figure to adults. (Heh-HEH! I know you are, but what am I?) Now, Pee-wee Herman is ... a clothing label? Yes, the puny prince of pre-adolescence has launched a new brand of clothing, linens and accessories, currently being sold at J.C. Penney stores nationwide. And the word for today is: color. The Pee-wee Herman boutiques and merchandise -- designed by Gary Panter, the cartoonist who created the set for CBS` wildly popular Pee-wee`s Playhouse -- include pullovers, puffy jackets and pants in pink, turquoise and green.

The multicolored hibiscus that blooms in the garden of the Selby Gardens Museum of Botany and the Arts in Sarasota is now called the Pee-wee Herman. The parents of the TV comedian arranged to have it named for him. In February, as part of a weeklong series of events that focused on "brotherhood, human relations and special acts of kindness," students in Davenport, Iowa, came up with the idea of dressing like Pee-wee. In April, when the Kentucky Educational Television network held a workshop for student filmmakers, it turned into a discussion about the popular star of the CBS Saturday-morning series Pee-wee`s Playhouse (10 a.m., WTVJ-Ch.

The multicolored hibiscus that blooms in the garden of the Selby Gardens Museum of Botany and the Arts in Sarasota is now called the Pee-wee Herman. The parents of the TV comedian arranged to have it named for him. In February, as part of a weeklong series of events that focused on "brotherhood, human relations and special acts of kindness," students in Davenport, Iowa, came up with the idea of dressing like Pee-wee. In April, when the Kentucky Educational Television network held a workshop for student filmmakers, it turned into a discussion about the popular star of the CBS Saturday-morning series Pee-wee`s Playhouse (10 a.m., WTVJ-Ch.

Saturday morning children`s TV shows seem an unlikely place to see avant- garde interior design. But because of Pee-wee`s Playhouse, people from Podunk to El Paso are getting a slightly exaggerated look at a bold decor movement favored by big-city trend setters. The CBS show features Pee-wee Herman (a k a Paul Reubens), an eternal child whose surroundings reflect the trend of combining different but complementary cutting-edge design styles. Playhouse walls and floors are decorated in wild, clashing new-wave patterns and colors.

The day after Paul Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in a Sarasota pornographic theater, the bright red door of Pee-wee`s Playhouse -- the Saturday-morning kids` show that even parents loved -- was boarded up. Unsold Pee-wee Herman dolls became orphans. Disney-MGM Studios dropped him from its two-minute tour video. Executives at Disney, CBS and Toys `R` Us had acted swiftly to protect the interests of American children. Bad boy, Pee-wee. Rest in peace, Pee-wee Herman. Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah.

This season, cartoon-numbed Saturday-morning television has offered kiddies of all ages only one live person to watch: the profoundly odd Pee-wee Herman, shrieking and swooping around Pee-wee`s Playhouse. To lure the boy-man`s fetal charms to its schedule, CBS offered to give him money and then leave him to his mischief. In return, CBS asked three things: (1) Pee-wee should not stick pencils in potatoes; (2) Pee-wee should not emerge from the bathroom with a trail of toilet paper sticking to his shoe; (3)

Saturday morning children`s TV shows seem an unlikely place to see avant- garde interior design. But because of Pee-wee`s Playhouse, people from Podunk to El Paso are getting a slightly exaggerated look at a bold decor movement favored by big-city trend setters. The CBS show features Pee-wee Herman (a k a Paul Reubens), an eternal child whose surroundings reflect the trend of combining different but complementary cutting-edge design styles. Playhouse walls and floors are decorated in wild, clashing new-wave patterns and colors.